TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

FRIDAY JULY 5, 1996

Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning

Ankara has welcomed Boris Yeltsin's victory in the Russian
presidential electlon, and hopes ties between the two countries
will strengthen after the elections.

"The election results show the belief of the Russian people in
democracy, and in such an atmosphere Turkey hopes for the
strengthening of ties", a senior diplomat from the Turkish
Foreign Ministry said.

It is reported that President Suleyman Demirel sent a
congratulatory message to Yeltsin. Demirel said in his message
that elections in Russia should be viewed as "a victory for
democracy and reforms" and pointed out that relations between
Turkey and Russia should further advance. /Cumhuriyet/

Ninety percent of the Russian electorate living in Turkey
supported Yeltsin in the second round of the Russian presidential
elections. 3,800 of the total electorate amounting to 4,310
persons voted for Yeltsin, while the remaining 510 voters were
either for Zyuganov, or against both candidates. /Sabah/

President Suleyman Demirel said that Turkey shared global
responsibilities with the US. Demirel sent a congratulatory
message to US President Bill Clinton on the 220th anniversary of
US Independence Day. Noting that both Turkey and the US have been
faced with threats against peace and stability, Demirel pointed
out that Turco-US cooperation was of great importance. Demirel
expressed his belief that a partnership relation cultivated on a
basis of common interests and democratic values between the two
countries would further develop. /Cumhuriyet/

Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller said that at the initiative of the
NATO secretary-general, new Confidence-Building Measures (CBM)
had been initiated between Greece and Turkey. Ciller on Wednesday
said that the two countries would not hold military exercises
from July to September in the Aegean Sea. She said they were
waiting for further clarification from Javier Solana,
secretary-general of NATO about the CBMs, which she said had
created an atmosphere suitable for solving problems between the
two countries. "Turkey welcomes the initiatives of the
secretary-general. We want to solve the problems between the two
countries and respect each other's interests. Turkey does not
want to escalate the situation" Ciller said. /Cumhuriyet/

During the first official contact the Clinton administration has
had with the new Turkish coalition government headed by Necmettin
Erbakan, chairman of the Welfare Party (RP), the ties of
friendship and alliance between Turkey and the US were confirmed,
according to a State Department senior official. US State
Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns characterized the contacts
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Peter Tarnoff had
with President Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister Necmettin
Erbakan, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller,
and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Onur Oymen as "a very good
set of meetings, very full set of meetings". "Undersecretary
Tarnoff is pleased with the meeting he had with the new prime
minister" Burns said.

Burns said on Wednesday that Tarnoff and Deputy Undersecretary
for Defence Jan Lodal, during their meetings with Turkish senior
officials in Ankara, "underscored Turkey's very important place
in the West connected to the US, to Europe, through the customs
agreement that we all worked so hard on". Burns went on to
describe the two countries' relationship as NATO allies as the
"bedrock of Turkish American security". Burns said that Turkey
was "the only democratic and secular Muslim state in the region".

Tranoff is said to have "emphasized our continued willingness...
to act as a facilitator to resolve problems between Greece and
Turkey" Burns said. US envoy to the UN Ambassador Madeline
Albright and Richard Beattie, President linton's personal Cyprus
envoy, will visit the island in late July for the "big push"
promised by former Assistant Secretary of State Richard
Holbrooke.

In respect to the extension of Operation Provide Comfort, an
international force deployed in Turkey, Burns quoted Tarnoff as
saying "We expect Operation Provide Comfort to be extended".

Burns added: "I think Prime Minister Erbakan is well aware,
through his long experince in the Turkish political system, of
the important relationship that the US has with Turkey, and the
fact that we have been a defender of Turkish sovereignty when
times were tough during the Cold War, and that continues, and
that we have a mutually supportive relationship that benefits the
Turkish people as well as the American people".
/Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/

Turkey was the sixth-largest arms importer in the world in 1994,
according to official US data realised by the U.S. Army Control
and Disarmament Agency (ACDA). But in terms of GNP per capita,
Turkey ranks 78th in the world, with $2,075 per capita, according
to ACDA. In terms of military expenditure as a percentage of
total GNP, Turkey ranked 36th with 4.1 percent. Turkey imported
$950 million-worth of arms in 1994, mainly from the United
States. Turkey amassed "slightly over $3 billion in purchases in
1992-1994, accounting for 23 % of the European total" the ACDA
report said. Of those arms, $2.5 billion-worth were imported from
the US; $220 million from France; $120 million from Russia; $90
million from Germany; and $70 million from the United Kingdom.

The top five arms importers in 1994 were :Saudi Arabi (5.2 bn);
Egypt ($1.5 bn); US ($1.1 bn); Israel ($1 bn); and South Korea
($1 bn). Turkey has the seventh-largest armed forces in the
world, with a total of 811,000 troops. The ACDA report says that
total arms exports have declined by 73 % since the beginning of
the decade. /Sabah-Hurriyet/

An editorial that appeared yesterday in Iran's daily "Iran News"
said that Iran "has begun to hear encouraging words" from Ankara
since Necmettin Erbakan became prime minister. However, it also
said that "the people of the Middle East expect more exact action
on some specific subjects". The newspaper called Erbakan's
statement demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied lands
"refreshing".

The editorial said that the only way to protest against
repression by the industrialized countries was for the Third
World to form a unified front. Consequently, the editorial said:
"Erbakan should carry out his historic responsibilities. The
Middle Eastern people expect Turkey to concentrate on regional
and Third World interests rather than concentrating on the
welfare of the Zionists and of the West". /Sabah/

Syria said yesterday it was working to improve relations between
its non-Arab ally Iran and the rest of the Arab world,
particularly between Egypt and Iran, which have been on bad terms
for almost two decades. Syrian Foreign Minister Farooq al-Shara,
who has paid two visits to Tehran in the past week, said a thaw
in relations was in the interests of both sides. Shara also told
reporters that he thought the new Islamist-led government in
Turkey -another non-Arab neighbour- would make a more
conciliatory approach to relations with the Arab world, strained
after Turkey signed a military cooperation pact with Israel
earlier this year. /All papers/

According to one of the PKK terrorist organization's leaders, the
PKK is a dictatorship held in the iron grip of Abdullah "Apo"
Ocalan. In an interview with the German press, Selim Curukkaya, a
close friend of Ocalan has disclosed the inner workings of the
PKK and claimed that Ocalan is not a fighter for freedom - but
rather nothing more than a despot, prepared to kill at the
slightest excuse.

Declaring that he himself is now a target of Ocalan's vengeance,
Curukkaya said in his interview with the German press that he
knew of dozens of people in the PKK executed because of Ocalan's
despotic rule.

Curukkaya also explained that the PKK is administered from Syria,
with Ocalan entertaining ideas that his orders are in fact the
commands of God. /Sabah/

France has again confirmed that it will not issue a permit for
the pro-PKK MED-TV channel to broadcast from France. The French
Telecom administration has confirmed that it sees the PKK as a
separatist terror organization, and that it will not allow MED-TV
to broadcast using French Telecom equipment. /Sabah/

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation has arranged a panel meeting on
democracy in Turkey at the Merit Altinel hotel in Ankara. On July
11, Turkish and foreign experts will meet at the hotel to discuss
the founding of political parties, their administration and
responsibilities. /Cumhuriyet/

Taha Yasin Ramazan, Iraqi leader Saddam's right -hand man, has
called upon Pr me Minister Necmettin Erbakan to keep his promises
in connection with issues involving the Provide Comfort strike
force mandate and the UN imposed embargo against Iraq.

During the course of recent political events in Turkey, Erbakan
has declared that should he come to power he would bring the
Provide Comfort mandate to an end and also do something about
breaking the embargo.

Ramazan made his call to Prime Minister Erbakan during an
evaluation of political events in Turkey. He noted that stable
government in Turkey was of vital importance to Iraq, and
stressed that Turkey too was suffering from the embargo against
Iraq. /Milliyet/

All the indications are that things are getting better between
Greece and Turkey. Following the death of Andreas Papandreu, and
the voting in of his successor Kostas Simitis to the leadership
of the PASOK party, there has been a notable "softening" in Greek
attitudes towards Turkey. One of the most noteworthy signs is
that naval and military exercises will not be carried out by
either side in the sensitive Aegean Sea region between July and
September. /Hurriyet/

A new free trade agreement between Turkey and the European Union
(EU) European Coal and Steel Community will be signed in Brussels
on July 8. The agreement means that Turkey will benefit from a
tax deal that will wipe out outstanding tax debts on steel
trades. /Cumhuriyet/

Press representatives were attacked yesterday on the Dinar bridge
near Tunceli by PKK terrorists. While nobody was killed or
wounded during the attack, in a response operation organized by
security forces, two terrorists were killed.

On the other hand, 15 terrorists attacked yesterday a military
patrol vehicle in the environments of Olukbasi, Adana, killing
one and wounding another soldier. /Hurriyet/

According to a statement by the State Institute of Statistics
(DIE) industrial production in May increased by 15 percent in
comparison to the same month last year. Even though a decrease in
industrial production was marked in April, during the first five
months of 1996 total production has shown a growth rate of 7.9
percent. /Milliyet/

Central Bank foreign exchange reserves increased by $3.4 billion
during the first half of the year. Foreign exchange reserves
amounting to $12.4.5 billion at the end of 1995, reached $15.9
billion on June 28. According to June 14 data, foreign exchange
reserves in commercial banks were $9.3 billion, and gold reserves
preserved their previous level of $1.4 billion. As a result,
total Turkish foreign exchange and gold reserves amounted to
$26.6 billion on June 14, for the first time exceeding $26
billion. /Sabah/

Syria and Iraq have started discussions regarding the
distribution of the Euphrates River waters. In a statement prior
to a meeting of the Syrian and Iraqi delegations, Iraqi
Irrigation Minister Muhammet Ziyab El-Ahmet said that the Iraqi
government was determined to solve the water question with
Turkey. He pointed out that the GAP project initiated in southern
Anatolia by Turkey has significantly lowered water levels in the
Iraqi part of the Euphrates river, and called on the new Turkish
government headed by Necmettin Erbakan to start discussions to
find a solution to the water problem.

On the other hand, Arab Union Secretary General Dr.Ismet
Abdulmecit also issued a call to Turkey to hold talks with Iraq
and Syria for reaching an accord on a "just distribution of the
Tigris and Euphrates River waters". The suggestion of Egypt to
undertake the role of mediator between the parties has been so
far given a cool reception by the Turkish government. Observers
are eager to see wheather or not the new Refahyol coalition
government will show a different attitude towards the issue.
/Milliyet-Hurriyet/

The 5th session of the Council of Security and Cooperation
in Europe (CSCE) conference concerning members of parliament
starts today. 600 members of parliament from 55 countries
including Turkey with nine representatives, will attend the
session. /Cumhuriyet/

The State Planning Organisation (SPO) reports that 878 thousand
156 tourists visited Turkey in May. This figure indicates a 19.6
percent increase in the number of visitors to Turkey as compared
with the same period last year. According to the SPO, 71.9
percent of tourists arrived by plane, 15.8 percent by road, and
11.4 by sea. /Cumhuriyet/